Today on the Urban Farm Podcast, we welcome a Phoenix local successful farmpreneur, JD Hill of Recycled City with his experience on composting.

JD grew up in St. Michael, Minnesota, and arrived in Tempe, Arizona eager to earn his degree in business from Arizona State University.

Upon graduating with his first Bachelor’s Degree in 2008, he realized there were not many jobs in finance, and ASU opened its School of Sustainability, so he continued on, earning a second Bachelor’s Degree in Sustainable business.

He founded Recycled City 2 years ago and has over 500 customers!

What is Recycled City?

Recycled City is compost collection service. They deliver an empty 5-gallon bucket with bokashi, which absorbs moisture and prevents odor.

They began using bokashi for all of their composting needs. It was a great place for them to start.

Bokashi is Japanese for “fermented organic matter.” Bokashi composting is a safe, quick, and convenient way to compost in your kitchen, garage, or apartment, using a specific group of microorganisms to anaerobically ferment all food waste (including meat and dairy).

At Recycled City, they make their own Bokashi.

What is bokashi?

It’s a compost accelerant. They make it with EM1 from Teraganix in Tucson. They mix it with dried beer mash from 4 breweries they work with. Then they mix molasses, water, and EM1 into a solution and mix it into the grain until it’s spongy. They pack it into an airtight bin for about 2 weeks.

Why should people compost?

Their composting service offers many benefits, including that the city may reduce your trash bill!

The food waste that you collect for Recycled City is waste that would otherwise be sent to a landfill!. We turn trash into treasure. Instead of increasing the size of a landfill, your kitchen scraps are composted to help grow new, organic food!

Not only does Recycled City collect matter to be composted, for every 70 pounds of compost collected, they deliver back 1 cubic foot of compost returned.

They have just added CSA delivery to their program, with produce from Orchard Learning Center and Maya’s Farm.

Orchard Learning Center

Orchard Learning Center is a small community farm in phx on 7.5 acres. 2-3 acres of citrus. A few acres of seasonal vegetables, chickens and eggs. They hold summer camps for kids.

Why is composting important?

It puts microbes into the soil. Microbes and plants have a symbiotic relationship – the microbes improve the soil.

Compost adds nutrients to the soil that improve the quality and fertility of the food we grow!

Composting helps reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Landfills represent the largest source for toxic methane gases. By diverting compost materials from landfills, you can make our planet a healthier place to live!